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Long Weekend Recap

I’m so thankful that Vishnu’s brother and parents came to visit this past weekend. Otherwise, I would’ve had to spend the majority of the weekend by myself. We all wished that Vishnu didn’t have to work on both Saturday and Sunday, but it actually ended up being ok because he got to spend time with us in the evenings. Better than nothing!

A weekend with the family always includes delicious food (most of which went undocumented).

My MIL and I tag teamed lunch every day. We made chickpea curry, veggie stir-fry, and risotto at home (all on different days of course!).

I also made another loaf of my chocolate chip zucchini banana bread. It was a huge hit! We pretty much ate half of it as soon as it came out of the oven.

We also ate quite a few meals out. Of course, we had to take everyone to Datz. Unfortunately, the food wasn’t as good it was the last time we ate here. We also tried a new-to-us Thai restaurant called 9 Bangkok. While everything was delicious, my Pad Thai and my MIL’s basil curry was waaaaaay too spicy. Thankfully, they took both dishes back and brought out mild versions. Much better! And finally, we celebrated my FIL’s birthday with a Greek meal (his choice!) at Acropolis Greek Taverna.

A few snaps of my meals…

Kale salad at Datz

Pad Thai at 9 Bangkok

Greek salad at Acropolis Greek Taverna

In between all the food we ate, we also managed to fit in a couple of great walks. On Saturday morning, we walked our usual trail by the water. It was nice to show Vishnu’s parents our neighborhood!

And on Sunday, we headed to Treasure Island to walk on the beach. No one really thought we were going to make it to the beach because of all the rain in the forecast, but we were blessed with a beautiful day and made the most of it (1.5 hours of walking!).

The rain didn’t stay away for all that long though. So that’s when we relaxed at home and watched movies – Bollywood one afternoon and Fed Up the next!

I’ll do a more comprehensive review of Fed Up in another post, but I highly recommend it. In fact, my FIL is going to tell his patients to watch it. It’s eye opening on so many levels. A must watch documentary if you ask me!

Other than all of the above, we really just spent good quality time together – talking, laughing (a lot!), and relaxing. I miss the fam and am already looking forward to the next time we all get together!

Did you do anything fun this weekend?

Weekend Recap – A Little Strange

written by Parita 12 Comments

This weekend was a little strange because Vishnu’s currently on nights (a 7p-7a schedule). And while he had Saturday and Sunday off, he slept during the day and then stayed up as late as possible at night. Having done this will hopefully make the three night shifts he has this week a bit easier.

I’m used to the weird hours and all that, but the strange part for me is staying quiet during the day so he can sleep. Our apartment isn’t all that big, and on top of that, the walls are super thin. Luckily, Vishnu’s not a light sleeper, but still…I literally tip toed around the apartment!

Anyways, despite all the quiet time, it was still a good weekend!

FRIDAY

Friday night was all about a quick, easy dinner in the form of Trader Joe’s vegetarian gyozas and a Bollywood movie. I haven’t watched an Indian movie in months, so it was nice to just sit back and unwind with some song and dance and tons of drama. AND because Vishnu wasn’t home, I could watch in peace without comments about how unrealistic Bollywood movies are!

Before I settled in for dinner and a movie, I cleaned the apartment. I knew I wouldn’t be able to do so the rest of the weekend (sleeping husband). Cleaning on a Friday night isn’t necessarily the coolest thing to do I know, but it made for a relaxing Saturday and Sunday!

SATURDAY

Vishnu didn’t get home until almost 9 on Saturday morning. Lots of crazy ER cases created a backlog of patients and work. He filled me on on his night, I told him about mine, he went to bed and I went to Trader Joe’s. I used the rest of my morning to get some work done, catch up with my mom, work out, etc.

After Vishnu woke up from his long nap, we watched TV and just hung for a bit until it was time to get ready for DATE NIGHT!

Since I work from home during the week, I so look forward to nights out on the weekend because that means I get to do my hair and play with a little bit of makeup. I guess I could do that during the week too, but I’m lazy. It’s as simple as that.

After lots of Yelp research, we decided to make our way to Tampa for dinner at Pane Rustica. This is a very highly rated Tampa Bay restaurant, so when we pulled into the parking lot and saw that it was part of a strip mall, we questioned our choice. But it turns out we had nothing to worry about because once you step inside, you forget that there’s a health market next door and a nail salon two doors down! The restaurant is dimly lit with tables set close to each other. Even still, it was very romantic and reminded us a lot of Italy!

We started with a watermelon, feta, mint, and almond salad that was full of fresh summery flavors. For my main entrée, I went with a simple Margherita flatbread. The crust was paper thin…my favorite! Vishnu ordered a scallop dish that he said was on point and delicious. And after seeing the two tables next to us order the Chocolate Decadence for dessert, we went for it too. Before you say/think about my no added sugar challenge, I plan on explaining my thought process and choices in a post late this week. Needless to say, the truffle like dessert was insane. AND I found that a few bites did it for me…more coming soon!

After dinner, we met up with our friend Anand who came up from Miami for a conference. I meant to get a picture of Vishnu and Anand together (bromance!) but forgot. Next time!

SUNDAY

Sunday morning/afternoon was the epitome of lazy. Vishnu slept in, I did some food prep, and that was pretty much that. We also managed to fit in a walk around the neighborhood. Winking smile Erika’s supposed to bring us even more rain this week, so who knows when it’ll be nice enough for a walk again. I mean, check out this weather forecast.

Oh and we ended the night with a salad (recipe coming soon!), bread, cheese, and unsweetened tea. Vishnu’s not a wine guy, so we compromised with tea!

Have a great Monday. And thanks for reading!

How’s the weather where you live? Feeling like fall yet?

Weekend Recap – Bits and Pieces

written by Parita 10 Comments

Another Monday, another weekend recap!

FRIDAY

Our Friday evening wasn’t all that exciting. Unless you count a mini Modern Family marathon and eggplant parm exciting.

I followed Andie’s recipe and was really happy with the way the dish turned out. Especially the crunchy breadcrumb topping! I know my globs of cheese aren’t all that attractive, but the combination of fresh mozzarella and parm was perfect!

Vishnu went to bed a little earlier than me because he had work the next morning. I stayed up and waited for our friend Rohit to arrive. Rohit drove up from Miami to visit for the weekend.

SATURDAY

Vishnu left for work at the crack of dawn, Rohit left to meet up with another friend around noon, and I enjoyed a Saturday at home. After knocking off some of the must do things on my list (cleaning, a work out, etc.), I relaxed and watched TV for 1.5 hours. Time well spent!

That’s not all I did though. I also curled my hair.

Excuse the half selfie and my huge eye! I’m not a fan of taking solo selfies, but I wanted to share how my hair turned out, so this seemed like a good compromise.

Anyway, you guys! I have to give my new curling wand (<—affiliate link!) a shout out again. It’s AMAZING! I’ve never felt comfortable curling my hair before because it always ended up looking like a huge nest on my head. But this wand changed everything. And at this price, it’s practically free!

Moving on…

The reason I put some effort into getting ready was because we had dinner plans with Rohit and his friend. We met them at a new-to-us restaurant in Tampa called Datz. Holy moly, this place is good! The menu is full of comfort food dishes made right – pastas, burgers, sandwiches, tacos, etc. There is literally something for everyone.

Horrible lighting equals horrible pictures!

Not sure what’s going on with me, but I ordered yet another burger! As you can see, the portions are huge. I managed to eat half of the bottom bun, the patty itself, and a few chips before calling it quits. Absolutely delicious though!

SUNDAY

Sunday started with a quick Target and Trader Joe’s run. Did you guys know that Trader Joe’s has it’s own coffee grinders? I did not! Basically, customers can pick a container of whatever beans they want (most of TJs coffee is in the whole bean form) and grind them in-store. Amazing!

I was all ready to make us lunch when I got home, but Vishnu and Rohit suggested we grab brunch at Red Mesa. Who am I to say not to a Mexican inspired brunch?

I decided to go with a scrambled eggs dish, but the real star of the show was the black beans. So much so that I ate all the beans and only a fourth of the eggs!

The rest of our day was spent doing a few things here and there to help us prepare for the week.

And there you have it – bits and pieces from our weekend!

Thanks for reading and have a good Monday!

Chicago – Food and Fun

written by Parita 10 Comments

I’ve been looking forward to recapping my trip all week. And now that it’s time to do just that, I’m not feeling very wordy! Funny how that works. I’ll try my best!

One note before I share more – my photos kind of suck because I wasn’t focused on taking great pictures, just creating great memories! And I apologize if you’ve already seen these pictures via my Instagram.

FOOD

RPM

This was my third time dining at RPM (first time and second time), and it just keeps getting better. Looking back, we probably ordered a little too much food, but it was all so delicious! You really can’t go wrong here. Everything is just so fresh and well made, which makes the higher price point totally worth it in my opinion. This is a MUST visit Chicago restaurant!

Native Foods Café

My coworker Thea and I ate at Native Foods Café a few times when I was in Chicago last September. It’s super close to our office, and the food is so tasty! This time around we shared the nachos and an order of sweet potato fries. A few of our other coworkers joined us for lunch and absolutely loved the food as well. It packs quite the punch for a vegan restaurant!

Roti

On Wednesday our team hosted a lunch for some of the other teams in our organization, and we catered the meal from a place called Roti. Everything is very flavorful, especially the hummus. So creamy and rich…LOVE!

Osteria Via Stato

On Wednesday night we had our big team dinner at Osteria Via Stato, a local Italian restaurant. Because of the size of our group, we had prix fixe menu, and even then, all of the food I tried was delicious – salted ciabatta bread with roasted garlic marinated in balsamic vinegar (MY FAVORITE!), crispy polenta, spring pasta with veggies, farro risotto (second favorite!), and the list goes on. I can’t wait to bring Vishnu back here because I know he’d love it!

Little Goat Diner

On Thursday evening I took a break from team stuff and made dinner plans with my friends Ankita and Rena. We went to Little Goat Diner in the West Loop neighborhood of Chicago. The food was fantastic! Some of the items we ordered were comfort food “ish”, while others were innovative and unique. But everything was really fresh and bold. I will be back Little Goat!

FUN

Cubs game

My London coworkers wanted to experience American baseball, so a bunch of us went to a Cubs (vs. Brewers) game on Tuesday evening. It was so fun seeing them get excited with the rest of the crowd, and surprisingly, they got the gist of the game fairly quickly. I had to explain a few things like stealing and bases loaded, but overall, everyone really enjoyed themselves!

Fireworks

Every Wednesday and Saturday night during the summer, the city of Chicago does fireworks by Navy Pier. Because of my coworker Toni’s husband, we got to watch them from the rooftop of one of the buildings on the lakefront. Amazing!

Well, that’s all I have in terms of a recap. I did go down a slightly wordy path…oops! That was bound to happen though, especially considering how packed and full this week was!

I head home today and can’t wait to see Vishnu!! AND we have some very special guests visiting this weekend…my parents! Yay!

Cheers to the freakin’ weekend!

Weekend Recap…

written by Parita 6 Comments

…that includes too many things to name in the title!

Another weekend, another recap! Also, as I mentioned in my no added sugar challenge post, I’m in Chicago for work this week. I love this city in the summer. There’s truly nothing like it!

FRIDAY

I only worked until lunch on Friday since Vishnu and I had our TSA pre-check appointments in the early afternoon. The “interviews” themselves took about five minutes each. Actually getting to the airport was the real pain because of an accident and onlooker delays.

Since we were already in Tampa, we went to the mall to see if we could find any good deals. Guess what…no deals! I did get a new-to-me BB cream at Sephora though (will share more once I’ve tested it out a bit). We also stopped by Nordstrom Rack where I found a beautiful woven dress that can be dressed up or down and will transition from summer to fall quite nicely I think.

When we got home from the mall, Vishnu asked if I would be interested in going to see the new Mission Impossible movie. Since Reshma gave it two thumbs up, I was not only down but kind of excited! Mind you, Vishnu’s been anticipating this movie for quite some time now. How do I know? Because he showed me the online trailer five times in the last two months!

If you’re looking for a fun action movie to end the summer with, this is it! I may not be the biggest Tom Cruise fan, but boy can he act! AND Vishnu told me that he did most of the stunts himself. Crazy! I also loved the humor that was mixed in with all the action, particularly any scene with Benji!

SATURDAY

On Saturday morning, I went to TJs per the usual except this time I didn’t come back with tons of stuff. Since I’m gone through the end of the week, I picked up a few prepared/prepackaged foods for Vishnu. Before most longer trips, I try to make him something to eat for the week before I head out (lasagna, chili, etc.), but I didn’t prepare the way I usually do so Trader Joe’s to the rescue. Tamales, chicken lasagna, and pizza will have to do this week!

Other to dos on our Saturday agenda included cleaning, a work out, de cluttering my makeup stash (i.e. throwing away a few old products that I held on to “just in case”), and packing.

We also met up with one of Vishnu’s co-interns and his girlfriend for dinner at Stillwaters Tavern. Apparently the restaurant just opened a month or so ago. I can tell it’s going to be a go to place for a lot of people because the food and the beer selection were both on point.

I stuck with water as my drink of choice and ordered a house made vegetarian burger and fries as my main. For some reason, I was craving a veggie burger all day, and this one delivered. The patty itself was full of flavor (I think the main ingredient was black beans), and the toppings included feta, tzatziki sauce and pickled onions. I honestly could’ve ate a bowl of just those onions. They were perfectly sweet and tangy! And the ketchup that came with the fries was a little spicy and added the perfect kick. Craving quenched!

As an aside, the chicken dish Vishnu ordered came with jalapeno cheddar bread pudding. Um, how good does that sound!? Too bad it was wedged between two pieces of chicken. Sad smile I really wanted to try it! Next time I may get it as a side.

After dinner, Shaz, AJ’s girlfriend, asked if we wanted to stop by the gelato place next door. No worries, I didn’t cheat on my challenge. While every got a cup of gelato, I sipped on a no sugar added latte. But you better believe we are going back to this place in 20 days! Some of the flavors looked and sounded absolutely delicious.

SUNDAY

Our Sunday started way earlier than we wanted at 4:15 am because of my crack of dawn flight. I promised myself (and Vishnu) that I won’t book early morning flights anymore unless absolutely necessary.

Anyway, we got to the airport with plenty of time for me to check my bag and get through security. Or so we thought! The security line was unbelievably long. At one point when I looked back, it had started to wrap around the back of the airport! I couldn’t help but wish that our pre-check appointment one week earlier! It was so bad that they closed the regular lanes where you go through the normal TSA process and opened up three pre-check lanes where you keep your shoes on and don’t have to take out liquids or electronics. That was the only way to get everyone through. Luckily, I made it to my gate with a few minutes to spare!

Once I arrived in Chicago, I quickly unpacked/settled in to my hotel room and got ready for the day. Unfortunately, it was drizzling, so I couldn’t go very far. Vishnu wanted me to check out potential neighborhoods since we’re going to start hunting for our next home soon! I guess the rain followed me here.

At 1:00 pm, a group of us staying at the hotel headed over to my coworker Toni’s parent’s house for dinner. Toni’s family is Italian, and her dad just so happens to have a wood burning brick oven in his backyard, so we had an Italian pizza party! So much delicious fun!

And finally, I ended the day by meeting up with a very good business school friend of mine! Mariam and I hadn’t seen each other since my wedding, so this was a long overdue reunion. I love it when one trip fits so many different purposes!

I’ll share more about this trip in Friday’s post – lots of delicious restaurants on the agenda along with a Cubs game, fireworks, and more!

Have a wonderful Monday, and as always, thanks for reading!

Have you ever been to Chicago before? Favorite US city?

Weekend Recap–Food and Comedy

written by Parita 13 Comments

MIS will never be a lifecasting blog. My day-to-day life is way too routine for that. And to be quite honest, I don’t enjoy writing about my daily happenings. I tried that for a while when I first started blogging, and it just didn’t stick. I do, however, enjoy sharing weekend recaps because that’s when the fun/different stuff happens (for the most part).

So here’s a peek into my weekend…

FRIDAY

Vishnu and I have decided that since we’re only going to be in St. Petersburg for the next ~~year~~ 10 months (time is flying!), we want to try as many new restaurants as possible. As I’ve mentioned before, there are tons of options in the St. Pete/Tampa area.

On this particular Friday, we were craving Mexican/Tex Mex food. Vishnu did a little bit of research, and we ended up at Casita Taqueria for dinner.

We started with an order of the guac and chips. I loved the seasoning on the chips and the flavor of the guac. Vishnu…not such a fan. He did enjoy the tacos he ordered – a grouper taco and a spicy chicken taco. Since there was only one veggie taco on the menu, I decided to order a rice and bean bowl. It was good but had nothing on Chipotle!

Not the best meal we’ve had in St. Pete but glad we gave it a chance!

After dinner, we headed to one of Vishnu’s co-intern’s apartments to hang out. Once everyone else got there, we went up to the rooftop deck. Fun times!

SATURDAY

A late Friday night made for a late Saturday morning! Not necessarily a bad thing since the rain still hadn’t let up. We cleaned and watched a little TV before getting ready to go the Side Splitters, a comedy club in Tampa.

Another one of Vishnu’s co-interns invited a few of us to his uncle’s comedy club. There’s nothing like stand up, so we were totally on board.

The main comedian ended up being Jaime Kennedy. For those of you, like me, who find that name vaguely familiar, he’s the guy who played Randy in the Scream movies!

Fortunately, both Jaime and the guy who went before him were pretty funny. They definitely got some laughs out of the audience!

SUNDAY

I woke up to the sound of pouring rain on Sunday morning. By the time I rolled out of bed, brushed my teeth, and figured out what I needed to buy at TJ’s, it stopped, so I quickly got ready and headed to the store.

Other than grocery shopping, working out, and sorting through my clothes (i.e. purging a whole bunch of stuff), our Sunday was super relaxing. Just the way I like it!

Well, here’s to another week…make it a good one!

Happy Monday!

Last Weekend in Miami

written by Parita 19 Comments

FRIDAY

When I got home from work on Friday, Vishnu was watching TV, so I decided to relax and read for a few minutes. More on my newest book to come soon!

Then came figuring out what to eat for dinner. Earlier in the day, I asked Vishnu if oatmeal was ok. He agreed and that was that…until I proposed pizza at 6:30 pm.

Oatmeal vs. Pizza. Pizza won!

We were able to get five meals out of this one pie. Not too bad!

The rest of our Friday included a little packing and some TV watching.

SATURDAY

Saturday was a bit busier because we had some errands to run in the afternoon. We had a few things to return at the mall and a few things to buy at Target. We also had to buy paint (for the condo walls) from a very specific retailer. All of that took a few hours, and while it wasn’t super exciting, it was nice to drive around that area of Miami one last time.

Later in the evening we met up with a few friends for dinner. Vishnu really wanted to check out a restaurant called Mandolin after our friends Adam and Khusbu mentioned it last weekend. I told him I would take care of making a reservation and all that.

Welllll…I did make a reservation but for six because I wanted to surprise Vishnu with a fun graduation dinner with our friends! And even though I almost gave away the big surprise a few times, he totally didn’t catch on. In fact, as the host was walking us to our table, he said something like, “Right this way and two others from your party have just arrived.” To which Vishnu replied, “What? It’s only the two of us.” I just ignored him and kept walking. The look on his face when he saw everyone was priceless!

And I didn’t take any food pics, but everything was delicious (especially the Greek and Turkish dip samplers). This is definitely a must-try Miami restaurant!

We ended the meal with delicious celebratory mini cupcakes from LA Sweetz. My fav!

SUNDAY

We slept in a little on Sunday and savored every last minute of our last full weekend day in Miami. We also packed and cleaned some more…shocking!

Later in the evening we headed to our friend Rohit’s house for dinner and were joined by a few of other friends. His sweet mom was kind enough to make us dosas + all kinds of veggie curries on the side. Needless to say, I was STUFFED! It was fun eating and talking for a few hours. By the time we got home, I was ready to sleep.

All in all, our last weekend in Miami was a great one. We didn’t do anything new, but we spent it with the people who made our time in Miami so much fun. And I wouldn’t have had it any other way!

Happy Monday all, and thanks for reading!

What was the highlight of your weekend?

Long Weekend Recap

Weekend Recap – A Little Strange

Weekend Recap – Bits and Pieces

Chicago – Food and Fun

Weekend Recap…

Weekend Recap–Food and Comedy

Last Weekend in Miami

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